Apparatus and method for administration of mother's milk
First Claim
1. A method for managing the acquisition and distribution of mother'"'"'s milk in a hospital setting, comprising the steps of:
- a) providing a recipient with an electronically readable identification means;
b) reading the recipient'"'"'s identification from the identification means with a reader;
c) printing labels with the recipient'"'"'s identification in an electronically readable form with a printer and storing information about the labels in a database stored on a computer;
d) collecting milk into containers and recording in a computer database the date and time at which the milk is expressed;
e) labeling the containers with the printed labels;
f) storing the containers in a refrigerator and recording in a computer database the time at which the milk is stored in the refrigerator;
g) reading the recipient'"'"'s identification from the identification means with a reader when feeding of the milk begins;
h) reading the recipient'"'"'s identification from the printed label with a reader when feeding of the milk begins;
i) using the computer to compare the recipient'"'"'s identification read from the identification means to the recipient'"'"'s identification read from the printed label to insure that the correct containers are fed to the recipient and;
j) using the computer database to compare the date and time at which the milk was expressed to the current date and time to check if the milk has passed its expiry date.
8 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Apparatus and methods are described for matching of mothers'"'"' milk to the correct baby in hospitals or other institutions where mothers'"'"' milk is expressed in advance and stored for feeding to the baby at a later time. Electronically readable indicia are used to confirm the identity of the baby, the milk units, and caregivers when the mother'"'"'s milk is fed to a baby. Apparatus and methods for the collection, storage, and communication of information relevant to handling of the mother'"'"'s milk are detailed such that complete audit trails are recorded and guidance to the caregiver is provided in order to ensure that all required procedures are executed properly.
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Citations
14 Claims
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1. A method for managing the acquisition and distribution of mother'"'"'s milk in a hospital setting, comprising the steps of:
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a) providing a recipient with an electronically readable identification means; b) reading the recipient'"'"'s identification from the identification means with a reader; c) printing labels with the recipient'"'"'s identification in an electronically readable form with a printer and storing information about the labels in a database stored on a computer; d) collecting milk into containers and recording in a computer database the date and time at which the milk is expressed; e) labeling the containers with the printed labels; f) storing the containers in a refrigerator and recording in a computer database the time at which the milk is stored in the refrigerator; g) reading the recipient'"'"'s identification from the identification means with a reader when feeding of the milk begins; h) reading the recipient'"'"'s identification from the printed label with a reader when feeding of the milk begins; i) using the computer to compare the recipient'"'"'s identification read from the identification means to the recipient'"'"'s identification read from the printed label to insure that the correct containers are fed to the recipient and; j) using the computer database to compare the date and time at which the milk was expressed to the current date and time to check if the milk has passed its expiry date. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method for managing the acquisition and distribution of mother'"'"'s milk, comprising the steps of:
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a) identifying on a recipient electronically readable indicia comprising recipient identification information for the recipient and storing the recipient identification information in a database stored on a computer; b) collecting milk expressed by the recipient'"'"'s mother into a container and recording in the computer database the date and time at which the milk is expressed; c) labeling the container with electronically readable indicia comprising the recipient'"'"'s identification information; d) storing the container of milk; e) recording the time at which the milk is stored in the refrigerator in the computer database; f) generating a milk request slip for the recipient, the milk request slip comprising electronically readable indicia comprising the recipient'"'"'s identification information; g) retrieving the container of milk and referring to the computer database to verify the milk container'"'"'s identity by comparing the recipient'"'"'s identification information on the milk request slip with the recipient'"'"'s identification information on the label applied to the container; and h) comparing the recipient'"'"'s identification information on the recipient with the electronically readable indicia on the label applied to the container; and i) using the computer database to compare the date and time at which the milk was expressed to the current date and time to check if the milk has passed its expiry date. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12)
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13. A method for managing the acquisition and distribution of mother'"'"'s milk, comprising the steps of:
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a) labeling containers of mothers'"'"' milk with electronically readable indicia, wherein the indicia includes a unique identifying code; b) recording the unique identifying code and the date and time of milk expression in a database stored on a computer; c) storing the milk for later use; d) removing the milk from storage when required; and e) retrieving the date and time of expression of the milk from the database, using the computer to calculate the time elapsed since the milk was expressed, and providing an electronic warning through the computer if the elapsed time since expression is more than a pre-determined value. - View Dependent Claims (14)
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Specification